Midwest floods hammer US ethanol industry, stimulate gasoline prices

09.04.2019 12:14 "Agro Perspectiva" (Kyiv) —
This year Mar floods that punished the US Midwest have trapped barrels of ethanol within the country interior, causing shortages of the biofuel and helping to boost gasoline prices within the western United States, Reuters reports.
It is to be admitted, the historic floods have dealt a series of blows to large swaths of an ethanol industry that was already struggling with high inventories and sluggish domestic demand growth.
Thus, the ethanol shortages have become a major factor pushing gasoline prices in Southern California, including Los Angeles, to the highest within the country.
As to the report, the floods have already inflicted milliards of dollars in damage to crops and homes within the US Midwest, and knocked out roughly 13% of ethanol capacity.
It is to be admitted, the US ethanol is made from maize and required by the government to be blended into the country fuel shipments to reduce emissions.
While some ethanol plants were flooded, the primary effect of the rising waters was to shut rail lines that serve as the main arteries for maize/ethanol shipments.